Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image recording method and an image recording apparatus.
Description of the Related Art
Ink jet recording apparatus have been widely applied to output apparatuses for computers and the like from the viewpoint that the running cost is low and the apparatus can be downsized and is easily applied to color image recording using a plurality of color inks. In recent years, there is a demand for image recording apparatus capable of outputting high quality images at high speeds regardless of the types of recording media. On the surface of a recording medium having low permeability, an ink is likely to be left and thus causes bronzing due to the material properties of the ink surface. In order to suppress the bronzing, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-51199 discloses a technique of applying a treatment liquid so as not to expose the ink surface, for example.
Meanwhile, in order to achieve high quality image output at high speed, it is required to suppress image deterioration phenomena such as feathering in which inks spread along fibers of a recording medium. As one of the techniques for solving the problem, transfer type image recording apparatus including an intermediate transfer member have been developed in place of a direct drawing system in which an ink is applied directly onto a recording medium (U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,156, U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,256, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. S62-92849). In the transfer type image recording apparatus, an intermediate image is formed on an intermediate transfer member by an ink jet recording apparatus. Next, the intermediate image on the intermediate transfer member is dried, and the intermediate image is transferred onto a recording medium to form a final image. By the transfer type image recording method, the intermediate image is dried on the intermediate transfer member, and thus feathering is unlikely caused even when a high quality image is output at a high speed.
However, the transfer type image recording method cannot form good images in some cases because a part of an intermediate image is not transferred, or an intermediate image is separated in the inside and only the separated part is transferred onto a recording medium, for example. As the techniques for solving the problem, a method of applying a material containing a water-soluble resin to an intermediate image formed in advance has been developed (Japanese Patent No. 4834300). In the method disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4834300, a first material for aggregating the pigment in an ink is first applied to an intermediate transfer member, and then an ink is applied by a recording head to the intermediate transfer member to which the first material has been applied, forming an intermediate image on the intermediate transfer member. Next, a second material containing a water-soluble resin is applied to the intermediate transfer member, and then the intermediate image formed on the intermediate transfer member is transferred to a recording medium. The first material is a liquid containing at least a metal salt.